Issues with old Smart-UPS 5000 - advice appreciated!

[Anonymous user]

I can't say for sure how old exactly the UPS is, but today it has seemingly had some sort of failure.

Everything was working fine until this afternoon when I started getting alerts about something going wrong. Went to our server room and noticed that all of 5000's LEDs were on and blinking continuously. No matter how much time passed, the LEDs would just continue to blink. Nothing connected to it is operational. Sadly the manual does not say what 'all LEDs blinking' could mean, just the individual LEDs.

With the UPS off, the only way to turn it back on is to hold the power/self-test button until an audible beep, then release. The UPS will power on and revert back to the 'all LEDs blinking' state.

I'm leaning towards battery failure or something, but I've never had an APC UPS fail on me so any troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[BillP]

Hello,

It means electronics failure. I *think* when all of the LEDs are blinking, it means welded relay(s), most probably the main transfer relay. Your UPS probably tried to do a self test and it failed to transfer over to battery due to relay fault. The relays can be replaced just like the electrolytic capacitors by trained servicemen (and they are highly advisable to be replaced for a unit of this age). I had a similar issue with a smaller and even older unit than this, and it turned out that not the relays were bad, but an optocoupler coded 4N25 was, through which the control logic detects relay weld.

[Anonymous user]

Hey, thanks for your quick reply.

I'm guessing I'll need to look up a local repair center to have that done since the unit probably isn't within warranty? Unless APC themselves offer such a paid service?

[BillP]

Hi Matt, 

All LEDs flashing indicates an internal hardware failure. APC does not provide a repair service for problems like this, and we also don't sell any of the internal components. If you provide me with the serial number, I can check the warranty status for you, but it seems your best option is to order a replacement UPS. 

Regards, 

Nicole 

[Anonymous user]

Hi Nicole,

Thanks for reaffirming Wolf's comments about it being some kind of internal hardware/electronics fault.

The serial number of our unit I believe is AS0940360123, and the exact model number, if needed, is DL5000RMI5U.

Thanks again.

[BillP]

Hi Matt - 

The serial number indicates that your unit is around 8 years old, so well out of warranty. Given the age of the UPS I would generally suggest replacement rather than repair. As previously mentioned, it is likely a relay issue. 

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Thanks all.